''Absolutely Fabulous'' (often shortened to ''Ab Fab'') is a British television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

created and written by

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer, and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School ...

, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990 ''

French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is al ...

'' sketch " Modern Mother and Daughter", created by

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

and Saunders. Saunders stars as

Edina Monsoon Edina "Eddie" Margaret Rose Monsoon is one of the two main characters in the British television sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'', created and portrayed by comedian Jennifer Saunders. The founder and head of her own PR company, Edina consistent ...

, a heavy-drinking, drug-abusing PR mogul who spends her time failing to lose weight and chasing bizarre fads in a desperate attempt to stay young and "hip." Edina's best friend is ex-model and magazine fashion director

Patsy Stone Patsy Stone is one of the three main characters from the British television sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''. The character is portrayed by actress Joanna Lumley. Background Patsy was the last of a string of children born to an aging Bohemian mo ...

(

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

), whose drug abuse, alcohol consumption and desperate promiscuity far eclipse Edina's. Edina relies upon the support of her daughter Saffron (

Julia Sawalha Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992–2012). Her other television roles include as Lynda Day in '' Press Gang'' (198 ...

), a student and aspiring writer whose constant care of her immature mother has left her a bitter cynic. ''Ab Fab'' also stars

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television and film actress. Whitfield's big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme ...

in a supporting role as Edina's dotty, sarcastic and often thieving mother, who appears in nearly every episode.

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage pl ...

as Edina's utterly brainless personal assistant Bubble also features frequently. The first three series of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' were broadcast on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from 1992 to 1995, followed by a series finale in the form of a two-part special entitled ''The Last Shout,'' in 1996. In 2000, the show was ranked number 17 on the

100 Greatest British Television Programmes The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any ...

by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. It was revived for two more series and two one-hour specials from 2001 to 2004. Three new episodes, collectively titled '' Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary'', were released in 2011–2012. Two sketches for charity specials were also released, for

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

in 2005 and

Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a wikt:biennial, biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Dire ...

in 2012. A film continuation, '' Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie'', was theatrically released in 2016. Saunders then confirmed that she is "not doing anything more with ''Ab Fab''", as she wanted to focus on new projects. In October 2024, Saunders, Lumley, Sawalha and Horrocks appeared in the Documentary ''Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out'', which was broadcast on

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Premise

Edina "Eddie" Monsoon (Saunders) and Patricia "Patsy" Stone (Lumley) are two high-powered career women on the London fashion scene. Eddie runs her own PR firm, and Patsy holds a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

position at a top British fashion magazine. The two women use their considerable financial resources to indulge in cigarettes, alcohol (most notably

Bollinger Champagne Bollinger () is a French Champagne house, a producer of luxury sparkling wines from the Champagne region. They produce several labels of Champagne under the Bollinger name, including the vintage ''Vieilles Vignes Françaises, Grande Année'' an ...

) and

recreational drugs Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

and to chase the latest fads in an attempt to maintain their youth and recapture their glory days as Mods in

swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London denoted as its centre. It saw a flourishing in ...

. The partnership is driven mainly by Patsy, who is both

co-dependent In psychology, codependency is a theory that attempts to explain imbalanced relationships where one person enables another person's self-destructive behavior, such as addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility, or under-ach ...

and an enabler to Eddie. Their lifestyle inevitably leads to various personal crises, which are invariably resolved by Eddie's daughter, Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon (Sawalha), whose constant involvement in their exploits has left her increasingly bitter and cynical. Eddie's mother visits the home frequently to keep Saffy company and help her with the cooking and cleaning; Eddie and Mother, on the other hand, have a strained relationship, as they disagree on virtually everything and are rarely alone together. Also recurring in their lives are Eddie's ex-husbands, Marshall and Justin (Saffy's father), and their respective new partners, the American

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

Bo and the acidic antique dealer Oliver.

Production

Development

''Absolutely Fabulous'' evolved from a ''

'' sketch called " Modern Mother and Daughter" (from

series 3 Series 3 may refer to: * 3 Skypephone Series, the mobile phone series * Apple Watch Series 3, smart watch * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 3, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 3, the automobile model * BMW 3 Series, the automobile model li ...

episode 6), which starred Saunders as the mother, named Adrianna, and French as the daughter, named Saffron (as in the series). The sketch revolved around a middle-aged single mother who acted like a teenager and was reliant upon the emotional and financial support of her teenage daughter, who behaved like a middle-aged woman. It has no connection, other than the character's name, to the earlier film, ''Eddie Monsoon: A Life?'', a comedy play written by Saunders' husband

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

in 1984 for the TV series, '' The Comic Strip Presents...''. The name "Edina Monsoon" is derived from Edmondson's name and "Eddy Monsoon" is a nickname of his. Saunders revealed in 2012 that she was inspired by pop band

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

, with whom she and

had become friends after their

collaboration in 1989. "The nights with Bananarama were some of the best nights of my life, and I got a lot of gags from Bananarama because they were big vodka drinkers...when I started doing AbFab, I remembered all of the falls that I saw Bananarama do. I once saw one of them coming out of a cab bottom first and hitting the road, and I thought 'that's class'". Although ''Ab Fab'' was produced by Saunders and French's company, Saunders & French Productions, Dawn French appeared on the show only once, in a cameo in the first-series episode "Magazine", before making a brief cameo in the 2016 film. French was originally intended to play Edina's daughter, Saffron, but a younger actress (Sawalha) was ultimately cast. The first three series were broadcast on the

from 1992 to 1995, followed by a

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

in the form of a two-part television film entitled ''The Last Shout'' in 1996. Saunders revived the show for a fourth series in 2001 after writing and submitting a pilot entitled ''Mirrorball'', which recruited nearly all of the original cast in new roles. The pilot was intended to be turned into a series of episodes. However, Saunders felt the AbFab characters were too rich and interesting to put aside and were far better suited for her new story ideas. Instead of ''Mirrorball'', a new series of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' was proposed to the BBC, which later commissioned the fourth series in 2001. From 2001 to 2004, two series were produced, along with two one-off hour-long specials; ''Gay'' (retitled and issued as ''Absolutely Fabulous in New York'' for the United States) in 2002 and ''White Box'' (another series finale), which aired in 2004. A

sketch was broadcast in 2005. In November 2010, Lumley revealed to ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

'' magazine that she had recently spoken to Saunders about possibly filming a new series. Lumley and Saunders reunited for the M&S Christmas advert in 2009, along with other stars such as

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949), widely known by the nickname Twiggy, is an English model, actress, and singer. She was a Culture of the United Kingdom, British cultural icon and a prominent teenage model during th ...

and

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

. In August 2011, Lumley confirmed the planned filming of three new episodes. In 2011, plans for a 20th-anniversary revival were welcomed in ''The Guardian'', which applauded the show as "prophetic". The first new special of '' Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary'' was broadcast on 25 December with the second episode being shown on 1 January 2012. The third and final special, aired on 23 July 2012, coincided with the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, with

Stella McCartney Stella Nina McCartney (born 13 September 1971) is an English fashion designer. She is a daughter of English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney and American photographer and animals rights activist Linda McCartney. Like her parents, McCartney is ...

appearing in a cameo role. A sketch for

was also broadcast in 2012. A film version of the series, '' Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie,'' was released to theatres in the summer of 2016. Three new specials were announced to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary, with the first special, "Identity", airing on 25 December 2011.

Jon Plowman Phillip Jon Plowman (born 1953 in Welwyn Garden City, England) is a British television and film producer. He has been a producer at the BBC since 1980, when he produced Russell Harty's chat show ''Harty''. He moved on to executive producing a ...

, executive producer and original producer of the series, said: "Viewers have been fantastically loyal in their devotion to our show, so we're really thrilled to say that it's coming back for three new shows to celebrate our 20th anniversary. All of the originals who are back together again are still truly absolutely fabulous and the new adventures of Edina, Patsy, Saffy, Bubble and Mother, plus a few surprising guests, will be a real treat for viewers." Saunders announced in November 2011 that she had begun work on a film version of the series. In the United States, the episodes were jointly co-produced by Logo and BBC America in the US. and aired in January 2012 for broadcast by both BBC America and Logo Channel. Both channels co-produced the 20th Anniversary episodes, although Logo removed some scenes for its airings. BBC America broadcast it in full. Both channels aired the episode in a 40-minute block to allow for commercial interruptions. On 3 January 2012, following the success of the 20th anniversary specials, it was rumoured that Saunders was set to write another Christmas special for 2012. The BBC was rumoured to be urging her to write a sixth series for 2013. Saunders denied the reports of additional episodes via her Twitter account. Episodes of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' were shot in front of a live studio audience.

Theme song

The theme song for ''Absolutely Fabulous'' is " This Wheel's on Fire", written by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

and performed by

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippett (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress, known for her work with Brian Auger and her husband, Keith Tippett. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's " This Wheel's on F ...

and Saunders'

Comic Strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

fellow and later husband,

. The song was also sung by

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

and

P. P. Arnold Patricia Ann Cole (born October 3, 1946), known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American-born British-based soul music, soul singer. She began her career in 1965 as an The Ikettes, Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. The following yea ...

for the two-part special, "The Last Shout", in 1996.

Hermine Demoriane Hermine Demoriane is a French singer, writer and former tightrope walker. Daughter of an engineer and a journalist, she married the British poet Hugo Williams in 1965, with whom she has a daughter, Murphy Williams, also a writer and journalist. B ...

sang the theme song with a French accent over the closing credits of the series 4 episode "Paris" in 2001. At the end of the series 1 episode "Birthday", Edina and Patsy sang the song together on a karaoke machine. It was later performed by

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

and Edmondson in the 2002 Christmas special "Gay" (where Harry also guest-starred), as well as in series 5. For series 4, a line sung by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, "Ziggy played guitar", from his song "

Ziggy Stardust Ziggy Stardust was a glam alter ego of musician David Bowie in the early 1970s. It may refer specifically to: * Ziggy Stardust (character) * ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'', often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'', a ...

", played at the end of each episode. Due to copyright issues, the theme song is missing from many US Region 1 DVDs, replaced by an instrumental version. Also excised from the US DVD release is the musical number from ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'' performed by Horrocks, Gaffney, and Ryan during a dream sequence in the series 5 episode "Birthin'". In addition to the official theme song, in 1994,

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

recorded a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

for ''Comic Relief'' using excerpts of dialogue from the series put to dance music. The single was attributed to "Absolutely Fabulous produced by Pet Shop Boys". It peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart in July 1994. The music video featured clips from the show and specially recorded footage of the Pet Shop Boys with Patsy and Edina. On 10 June 2016,

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

released a cover version of "This Wheel's on Fire" for the soundtrack to ''Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie'', before the film's release in July 2016.

Conclusion

On 29 November 2016, Jennifer Saunders confirmed that she was "done" with ''Absolutely Fabulous'' and that it would not return to television for another series or specials, nor would a sequel to the film be made. Saunders said she wished to focus on new projects and spend more time with her family. Even so, in 2018, Saunders, when asked about the prospect of reviving the programme yet again, did not entirely dismiss it, saying "I am thinking at the moment of writing a little something. It has to be age-appropriate otherwise we’d have to be in wheelchairs basically. I think Julia is old enough to be my mother now." Saunders said the prospect of writing new stories with those characters was "always on ermind, always". In November 2020, Joanna Lumley was asked about the possibility of another revival and said that that would be up to Saunders. Lumley said it was unlikely, as Saunders did not want to work on new stories featuring the characters at that time. Lumley said that June Whitfield's death in December 2018 also meant it was less likely to happen, but said if Saunders wished to write new ''Ab Fab'' stories, she would be up for returning to play Patsy; she said "wait and see".

Cast and characters

Main

as Edina "Eddie" Monsoon *

as Patricia "Patsy" Stone *

as Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon *

as Bubble (and as Katy Grin in Series 4 and 5) *

as Mother

Recurring and guest

Christopher Ryan Christopher Papazoglou (born 25 January 1950), known professionally as Christopher Ryan, is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Mike The Cool Person in the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones'', Dave Hedgehog in the BBC comedy se ...

as Marshall Turtle *

Mo Gaffney Maureen E. Gaffney (born November 5, 1958, in San Diego, California) is an American actress and activist. Career Gaffney hosted two of her own television talk shows: ''Women Aloud!'' (which was shown on the Comedy Central network) and ''The Mo S ...

as Bo Turtle (née Crysalis) *

Christopher Malcolm Christopher Malcolm (19 August 1946 – 15 February 2014) was a British born Canadian actor and theatrical producer. He first achieved notoriety for his role as Brad Majors in the original stage production of ''The Rocky Horror Show''. Early ...

as Justin *

Naoko Mori (born 29 November 1971) is a Japanese actress based in the United Kingdom. She is known for her roles as Toshiko Sato in ''Doctor Who'' and '' Torchwood'', Yasuko Namba in '' Everest'', Sarah in '' Absolutely Fabulous'' and Nicola in '' Spice ...

as Sarah *

Helen Lederer Helen Margaret Lederer (born 24 September 1954) is a British comedian, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s. Among her television credits are the BBC2 sketch series '' Naked Video'' ...

as Catriona *

Harriet Thorpe Harriet Amelia Thorpe (born 8 June 1957) is an English actress. Thorpe trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. She is known for her roles in the British sitcoms '' The Brittas Empire'' (1991–1997) and ''Absolutely Fabulous'' ( ...

as Fleur *

Gary Beadle Gary Beadle (born 8 July 1965) is a British actor. Life and career Beadle was raised as one of five children in Bermondsey, South London, where he was baptised a Roman Catholic. As children, he and his elder brother Rikki produced a version o ...

as Oliver *

Kathy Burke Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress and comedian. She appeared in sketch shows such as '' French and Saunders'' (1988–1999), played a recurring role as Magda on the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992� ...

as Magda *

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress who has worked in film, television and theatre. After graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Richardson began her career in 1979 and made her West End theatre, West ...

as Bettina *

Patrick Barlow Evan George Patrick Barlow (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor, comedian and playwright. His comedic alter ego, ''Desmond Olivier Dingle'', is the founder, artistic director and chief executive of the two-man National Theatre of Brent, whic ...

as Max *

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is a British actress and author. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' film series, '' Calendar Girls'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), '' The Best Exotic Marigold ...

as Claudia Bing *

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical ''Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in '' Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967) an ...

as Patsy's Mother *Tilly Blackwood as Lady Candida De Denison-Bender *

Antony Cotton Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn; 5 August 1975) is an English actor and comedian, known for portraying the role of Sean Tully in ''Coronation Street'', as well as portraying Alexander Perry in the original '' Queer as Folk'' series. In 2007, C ...

as Damon *

Felix Dexter Felix Dexter (26 July 1961
''

< ...

as John Johnson *

Llewella Gideon Llewella Gideon (born 27 September 1967) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She has appeared in a number of comedy series, including '' Absolutely Fabulous'', '' The Real McCoy'', '' The Crouches'', and '' The Delivery Man'', and provid ...

as Nurse/Beautician

Special guests

Many celebrities, mainly British or American, appeared in the series, most of them as themselves. They include: *

Sylvia Anderson Sylvia Beatrice Anderson (; 25 March 1927 – 15 March 2016) was an English television and film producer, writer, voice actress and costume designer, best known for her collaborations with Gerry Anderson, her husband between 1960 and 1981. In ...

Christopher Biggins Christopher Biggins (born 16 December 1948) is an English actor and television personality. He became widely known for his roles in television series such as ''Porridge'', '' Poldark'' and '' I, Claudius'' in the 1970s. He later became known for ...

* Crispin Bonham Carter *

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English actress, comedian, presenter and writer. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Satur ...

Fern Britton Fern M. Philomena Britton (born 17 July 1957) is an English television presenter and author. After beginning her career as a continuity announcer and a newsreader, she went on to co-present '' Breakfast Time'' in the 1980s and hosted the cookery ...

Simon Brodkin Simon Benjamin Brodkin (born 29 September 1977) is an English comedian, performing both on the stand-up circuit and in comedy television series. He is best known for playing a cheerful chav character called Lee Nelson, but also performs as othe ...

Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the Pop music, pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the ...

Danny Burstein Danny Burstein (born June 16, 1964) is an American actor and singer. Known for his work on Broadway theatre, Broadway stage, he's received numerous accolades including a Tony Awards, Tony Award, a Drama League Award and two Drama Desk Award, Dram ...

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a British supermodel. Beginning her career at the age of eight, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was th ...

Linford Christie Linford Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former Sprint (running), sprinter and athletics coach. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes ...

Nicky Clarke Nicky Clarke (born 17 June 1958) is an English hair stylist and media personality. Early life Clarke grew up in a working-class family and lived in a council flat in London. His mother was a Greek immigrant who met his father when he was stat ...

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

Carl Davis Carl Davis (October 28, 1936 – August 3, 2023) was an American-born British conductor and composer. He wrote music for more than 100 television programmes, notably the landmark ITV series '' The World at War'' (1973) and BBC's '' Pride and P ...

Daniela Denby-Ashe Daniela Jolanta Denby-Ashe (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Sarah Hills on the soap opera ''EastEnders'', Margaret Hale on the period drama '' North and South'', and Janey Harper on the BBC sitcom ''My ...

Marcella Detroit Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit " Lay Down Sally" and released her debut ...

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French musician and singer who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou", and " The Good Lif ...

James Dreyfus James Louis de Zogheb Dreyfus (born 9 October 1968) is an English actor most notable for roles on television sitcoms '' The Thin Blue Line'' as Constable Kevin Goody, and '' Gimme Gimme Gimme'' as Tom Farrell. Dreyfus is most recently known for ...

Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film ''Circle of Friends (1995 film), Circle of Friends''. She went on to star i ...

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Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Double Man (1967 film), The Double Man'' (1967), ''The Night They ...

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...

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Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

Mariella Frostrup Mariella Frostrup (born 12 November 1962) is an Irish-Norwegian journalist and presenter, known in British television and radio mainly for arts programmes. She has written for ''The Daily Telegraph'' as a travel writer, ''The Guardian'', ''The ...

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David Haye David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amat ...

Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is a British actor. He trained with National Youth Theatre and won the Ian Charleson Award in 1992 for his performance as Witwoud in ''The Way of the World''. He made his Broadway debut in the ...

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British Middle-distance running, middle distance Track and field, athlete and television personality. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres, 800 and 1500 metres events and won gold medals for ...

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* Robert Lindsay *

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Suzy Menkes Suzy Peta Menkes (born 24 December 1943) is a British journalist and fashion critic. Formerly the fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune, Menkes also served as editor, Vogue International, for 25 international editions of '' Vogue ...

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen, she has received various accolades throughout a career spanning more than four d ...

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Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...

Erin O'Connor Erin O'Connor (born 9 February 1978) is a British high-fashion model. Early life O'Connor was born and brought up in Brownhills, West Midlands, where she attended Brownhills Community School. She was brought up Catholic and her father is f ...

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International broadcast

Europe

In Portugal, ''Ab Fab'' has been shown on

RTP2 RTP2 (''RTP dois'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting cultural ...

. In Serbia, the first series was aired in 1998, through a network of local television stations. In 2004, the series was aired on

B92 RTV B92, or simply B92 (stylized as b92, formerly BΞ92 and B 92), is a Serbian news station and broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade. Founded in 1989 as radio station, it was a rare outlet for Western news and informati ...

, while in the Czech Republic, all episodes have been shown. In North Macedonia, all episodes have been shown several times on Sitel. In the Netherlands and Flanders, the series is popular, and it is still regularly re-broadcast by the

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for ''Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep'', lit. 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcaster', nowadays known as ''Omroepvereniging VPRO'') is a Netherlands, Dutch Public broadcasting, public broadca ...

and

Canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

, respectively. In Sweden, all episodes were first broadcast by SVT, but reruns have later appeared on other channels. In Germany, it was broadcast by the Franco-German TV network

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

and gay-oriented channel TIMM. In France, before it was rerun on terrestrial TV arte, it was successively premiered on pay TV channel Canal +, cable channel Jimmy, and is now broadcast on

France 4 France 4 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. Owned by France Télévisions, the channel is divided into two strands, with children's and family programming under the ''Okoo'' strand airing from 05:00 to 21:00 daily, and arts pr ...

. In Finland, the series was broadcast by

YLE TV1 Yle TV1 (, ) is a Finnish television channel owned and operated by Finnish public broadcaster Yle. It is the second-oldest television channel in Finland, after TES-TV, and is the oldest currently existing television channel in the country. More ...

. In Estonia, the series was broadcast by

ETV ETV may stand for: Television * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television application specification Africa * e.tv, South Africa * ETV (Ethiopia), Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation * ETV G ...

. In Poland, two series were broadcast by

Wizja Jeden Wizja Jeden was a Polish television channel that was launched on April 1, 1998. The channel was available on Wizja TV and some cable networks. The channel showed comedy related programs. The channel also commissioned dubbed versions of some progra ...

, later by TVP3, TVN7 and

BBC Entertainment BBC Entertainment was an international television channel that broadcast comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcast re ...

Australia/Oceania

In Australia, all series were initially shown on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and on cable on

UK.TV BBC UKTV is an Australian pay television channel in Australia and New Zealand, screening British entertainment programming, sourced mainly from the archives of the BBC, RTL Group (mainly Talkback Thames material) and ITV plc. The channel was or ...

, and moved to

The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) was an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Services ( ...

in 2007. Repeats of the first three series were also shown on the

Seven network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

. ABC continues to show it sporadically, including Christmas specials and occasional repeats of series five episodes.

ABC2 ABC Family is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of family and teen entertainment programming. The channel oper ...

also shows repeats of the show. As of 6–7 August 2016, the series was shown on

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

's sister channel

9Gem 9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived. History The la ...

to promote the upcoming film adaptation. All five series were broadcast in New Zealand on

TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...

. In India, all five series, including the specials, have been shown on BBC Entertainment.

North America

In the United States, ''Absolutely Fabulous'' premiered on 24 July 1994 on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

with a 12-episode marathon. Some public television stations have also broadcast it, but not as part of the PBS program offerings, in addition to

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

Oxygen Network Oxygen (branded on air as Oxygen True Crime) is an American cable and digital multicast television network owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group unit of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. The network primarily airs true crime television series ...

, and as of 2011,

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

, a gay-oriented channel. In Canada, the programme has appeared on the

BBC Canada BBC Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that mostly broadcast television series originally produced by the BBC, the public-service broadcaster of the United Kingdom. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment (80% & managi ...

, the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, runni ...

and

VisionTV VisionTV is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language Category A services, Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is ...

. In the United States in April 2021, the entire series is being included with Amazon’s Prime streaming service; while listed slightly differently, e.g., ‘Season 5” adds the final three episodes from 2011 to the British series five from 2003 to 2004, all episodes are available with a Prime membership. It is also available on the

Britbox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...

streaming service.

Other

In Israel, some of the series was aired on

Yes Plus Yes Plus (styled as yes+) channel was an Israeli television channel that broadcast foreign (British and American) TV shows. It was available on yes, the Israeli satellite provider. The channel aired on September 3, 2000, and broadcast the shows ...

and on

. In Brazil, all episodes were aired on

Eurochannel Eurochannel is a world television channel focused on European culture and lifestyle through movies, series and other programs dedicated to European culture. Eurochannel broadcasts in original audio with subtitles in English, French, German, Ital ...

Multishow Multishow is an entertainment channel owned by Canais Globo, Grupo Globo's cable and satellite television channel operator. It was launched in 1991, as one of the company's first four channels (with Telecine, Top Sport – now SporTV – and GNT ...

in the late 90s & 2000s beginning, and in the 2010s at

GNT GNT is a Brazilian pay television channel. Originally launched as GNT: Globosat News Television, a news and information network. With the launch of GloboNews, in 1996, the GNT acronym became meaningless, and the channel was focused on documentar ...

Episodes

Reception

Critical reception

Tim Gray of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine said that "''Absolutely Fabulous'', British sitcom about a rich, self-absorbed, falling-down-drunk woman, is not as funny as it intends to be, but it is absolutely unique, absolutely rude and absolutely politically incorrect". He also said that "''AbFab'' offers no sense of justice, which may give viewers the heebie-jeebies, since Americans like to believe that the wicked, even if they are amusing, will get punished. But the characters are originals, and ''AbFab'' has the courage of its convictions, encouraging audiences to find humor in such recent comedic taboos as substance abuse or mistreated offspring." Michael Hogan of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' gave the 20th Anniversary specials a negative review; following the "Olympics" episode, he commented, "The special Olympic edition of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' ..would have won no medals for comedy." He added, "This was the last of three 20th anniversary specials, the first pair of which were shown over Christmas. Every single one of those 20 years showed on-screen during this torturous half-hour." In a more favourable review, Meredith Blake of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' stated, "While longtime ''AbFab'' fans will enjoy this latest incarnation of the series, which has been reprised multiple times since its official end in 1995, 'Identity' most definitely isn't for ''AbFab'' neophytes, who will most likely be confused by the broad performances, the outré costumes, and the disembodied canned laughter."

Ratings

Accolades

Cultural impact

In 2000, ''Absolutely Fabulous'' was ranked as the 17th greatest British television show of all time by the

(BFI). In 1997, the pilot episode, "Fashion", was ranked #47 on ''TV Guide''s "100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time" list. A scene from the show was included in the '' TV's 100 Greatest Moments'' programme broadcast by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in 1999. In 2004 and 2007, the show was ranked #24 and #29 on ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

''s "Top Cult Shows Ever" list. In 2019, the series ranked #9 in ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

''' top 20 British sitcoms of all time. ''Absolutely Fabulous'' has a 96% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

. From its earliest series, ''Absolutely Fabulous'' won a devoted cult status with

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

audiences, which persists. There have been numerous tributes over the years, such as an ''Absolutely Fabulous'' drag show at

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest LGBT festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...

, and the song "

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (often shortened to ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom created and written by Jennifer Saunders, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990 '' French and Saunders'' sketch " Modern Mother and Daughter", cr ...

" by

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

duo

. Later series of the show leaned into its cult status, including more gay-related storylines, such as Edina's search for her estranged gay son and Edina and Patsy marrying each other in a same-sex commitment ceremony.

Adaptations and related media

A proposed American remake that would have starred

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...

and

Barbara Carrera Barbara Kingsbury Carrera is a Nicaraguan-born American actress, model and painter. She is a two-time Golden Globe Award nominee, New Star of the Year – Actress for '' The Master Gunfighter'' (1975) and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Pi ...

was put into motion by

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

but never materialised. However, Barr did incorporate many elements of the show into the ninth season of her eponymous show ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...

'', in which her character wins the lottery: Saunders and Lumley reprised their characters Edina and Patsy, and Mo Gaffney also appeared in the episode, though not as her character Bo. Two later American sitcoms, ''

Cybill ''Cybill'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired for four seasons and 87 episodes on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a t ...

'' and ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

'', also adapted elements of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' for the American audience. It was announced on 7 October 2008 that an American version of the series was in the works. The series was tentatively called ''Ab Fab'' and relocated to Los Angeles. ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' writer Christine Zander worked on the new scripts and would have been executive producer along with Saunders and

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

's Ian Moffitt.

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

, and indie Tantamount were producing the new series for

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, which greenlighted the pilot as a possible Fall 2009 entry with

Kathryn Hahn Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress. She gained prominence appearing as a supporting actress in a number of comedy films, including '' How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days'' (2003), '' Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' (2 ...

as Eddy and

Kristen Johnston Kristen Angela Johnston (born September 20, 1967) is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in ...

as Patsy. In May 2009, Fox decided not to commission a full series. The stage for the kitchen in ''Ab Fab'' was subsequently used as the stage for the shop in the British comedy '' Miranda''. Miranda Hart, creator of the show, had previously appeared on ''Absolutely Fabulous''.

''Mirrorball''

'' Mirrorball'' was a pilot set in the London theatre scene, starring the cast of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' as alternative characters. While writing and filming the show, Saunders was inspired to revive ''Absolutely Fabulous'' for a fourth series, which resulted in her abandoning ''Mirrorball''. It was eventually aired as a television special and is included as a special feature on the fourth series DVD. Some original characters from Mirrorball feature in the fourth series.

''Absolument fabuleux''

A French film inspired by ''Absolutely Fabulous'', titled ''

Absolument fabuleux ''Absolutely Fabulous'' () is a 2001 French comedy film co-written and directed by Gabriel Aghion. It is an adaptation of the British television sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'', created by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French. The film stars Jos ...

'', was released in 2001. It was written and directed by

Gabriel Aghion Gabriel Aghion (born 30 December 1955) is a French film director and screenwriter. Aghion was born in Alexandria, in Egypt on 30 December 1955. He is openly gay."Bonjour, sweetie darling". ''The Advocate'', 20 November 2001. Selected filmogr ...

, and starred

Josiane Balasko Josiane Balasko (born Josiane Balašković; 15 April 1950) is a French actress, writer, and director. She has been nominated seven times for César Awards, and won twice. Career One of Balasko's most recognized roles among English speakers is ...

as Eddy and

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (; born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television, and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for ''Every Man for Himsel ...

as Patsy. Saunders had a small cameo alongside

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

as a spectator at a fashion show.

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 18 June or 18 November 1939 or 1941 or 1946 or 1950) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s and went on ...

was asked to play the part of Patsy but turned it down laughingly, saying she had "already lived it".

''Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie''

In 2011, before the release of the new episodes for 2011/2012, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' reported that Saunders planned to begin writing a script for a film of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' in 2012. The film would begin with Edina and Patsy waking up on an oligarch's deserted yacht, drifting in the ocean. Saunders later said that the film would be set on the French Riviera. In March 2012, Saunders confirmed that she was working on the script. She said of the film's plotline: Saunders also stated that now that she had announced plans for a feature, there was no going back. She would do it for no reason other than having her alter-ego and Patsy walk down the red carpet at the film's premiere. In April 2013, Saunders said on the ''Alan Carr Chatty Man'' show that she had doubts about the film as she felt the cast was "too old". She felt pressure to write it and did not want to commit herself to it at this early stage. On 4 January 2014 whilst appearing on ''

The Jonathan Ross Show ''The Jonathan Ross Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2011 and airs on Saturday evenings following the conclusion of Ross' BBC One chat show, ''Friday Night with Jona ...

'', Saunders officially confirmed that the movie will definitely be happening, as she felt obliged to write a script for a film adaptation after threatening it for so long. Saunders was quoted as saying: "

kept announcing it and saying, 'Yes she's going to do it,' and then

on our radio show at Christmas said, 'I bet £100,000 that you don't write it,' so now I have to write it, otherwise I have to pay her £100,000'". In April 2014, Saunders again confirmed on BBC Breakfast that she was in the process of writing the film, and gave a prospective release date of sometime during 2015.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

on the film began on 12 October 2015 in the

south of France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

and it premiered in London on 29 June 2016.

Home media

''Absolutely Fabulous'' was initially released on VHS in the UK by

BBC Video 2 Entertain Video Limited, trading as BBC Studios Home Entertainment, is a British video and music publisher founded in 2004 following the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International by BBC Worldwide and the Woolworths (United Kingd ...

ending with the eight-VHS box set ''Series 1–4'' in November 2002. In the United States, series 1 and 2 were released together on Laserdisc by CBS/FOX in a boxed set in 1995, followed by series 3, released by CBS/FOX the following year and "The Last Shout" released by Image Entertainment in 1997. All episodes were later released on DVD, including a five-DVD box set titled ''The Complete DVD Collection: Series 1–4'' in 2002. BBC Video distributed all releases and

2 Entertain 2 Entertain Video Limited, trading as BBC Studios Home Entertainment, is a British video and music publisher founded in 2004 following the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International by BBC Worldwide and the Woolworths Group respe ...

(post 2004) except for ''The Last Shout'' which was released by Vision Video and

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

. The entire series is also available on demand on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. When the first three series were re-released on DVD, they did not include corresponding cover photography to their series: Series 1 included an image from the Series 3 episode "Jealous", Series 2 had an image from the Series 3 episode "Doorhandle" and Series 3 is from the Series 2 episode "Poor". All other releases included imagery from the correct series, as do the original VHS releases. In North America, all episodes have been released on DVD by BBC Video and

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

, including a complete collection named ''Absolutely Everything''. ''The Last Shout'' and ''Gay'' (released in the UK individually) were released as a collection called ''Absolutely Special'' in 2003. Another feature-length special ''White Box'' was released exclusively to the American market. It was eventually released in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2010 with its inclusion in the ''Absolutely Everything'' box set. Other releases include ''Absolutely Not'', a bloopers and outtakes collection, and ''Absolutely Fabulous: A Life'' (released as "Ab Fab: Moments" in the United States exclusively to VHS), a mockumentary including 15 minutes of new material interspersed with clips from the series. Both were only released on VHS in the UK; the latter was also released as a special feature on the box set release ''Absolutely Everything'' in America. Save for "The Last Shout" and the specials "Gay" (aka "Absolutely Fabulous in New York") and "White Box", the entire series is available to stream via Hulu. The series is also available on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

UK VHS

In the United Kingdom, VHS releases were distributed by

, except ''The Last Shout,'' which was released by Vision Video, with a final release in 2002.

DVD releases

All five series of ''Absolutely Fabulous'' have been released on DVD in individual series sets in Region 1, 2 & 4 via

2Entertain 2 Entertain Video Limited, trading as BBC Studios Home Entertainment, is a British video and music publisher founded in 2004 following the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International by BBC Worldwide and the Woolworths Group respec ...

and

Roadshow Entertainment Roadshow Entertainment (formerly known as Roadshow Home Video from 1982–1993) is an Australian home video, production and distribution company that is a division of Village Roadshow (formerly Roadshow Home Video and Roadshow Entertainment) th ...

, respectively. The specials have also been made available, not all in individual sets; "The Last Shout" was handled through Via Vision on Region 2,

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

on Region 4, and it was included alongside "Gay" on Region 1 from BBC Video. "Gay” was only released individually on Region 2, while it was included with the fifth series Region 4 DVD. "White Box" was only made available individually on Region 1 & 4. The 20th Anniversary DVD was released individually on all regions. A set comprising the first three series was released on Region 1 only. A series one to four set was made available on Region 2 & 4. In 2006, Region 4 was the first region to release all five series; however, due to licensing rights, "The Last Shout" was omitted from the set, but "Gay" and "White Box" remained. It was re-released in 2011, including "The Last Shout". The same set was released prior on Region 1 in 2008 and on Region 2 in 2010, which, for the first time, included "White Box" in the UK, which was never available individually. A complete series set was released on all regions with the addition of the 20th Anniversary Specials.

Notes

References

External links

* * * *
''Absolutely Fabulous''
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